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NALGEP Member Profile: Montgomery County is National Leader in Wind Energy

Location: Montgomery County, MD

Area of Focus: Clean Air,Energy

Local Contact
For more information on the program, contact NALGEP Board Member Jim Caldwell, Director of Environmental Protection for Montgomery County at jim.caldwell@montgomerycountymd.gov or Ann Elsen, Energy Planner, at ann.elsen@montgomerycountymd.gov.

Since July 2004, agencies in Montgomery County, Maryland, have included "zero-emission", renewable-energy electricity in new electricity supply contracts.

Renewable wind energy sources are producing 5% of the electricity used by the County, which is the largest wind power purchase from a local government in the Mid-Atlantic Region. This purchase will benefit the County with a yearly reduction of 42 million pounds of Carbon Dioxide, 5,000 pounds of Nitrogen Oxides, and other criteria pollutants such as particulate matter and sulfur dioxide. In fact, wind power is the world's fastest growing energy source.

Montgomery County, in the Washington DC metropolitan region, is classified as a "severe non attainment" region for ground-level ozone. Many of the emissions that cause the ozone problem are not actually produced in Montgomery County, but drift into the area on prevailing winds from large coal fired electric power plants located to the west of the State of Maryland. So, the County is purchasing power from a wind-energy facility in West Virginia. Purchasing wind energy will offset some of these emissions and will help to reduce dependence on coal as a fuel for electricity generation. Montgomery County officials worked with the Maryland Department of Environment, EPA Region 3, and EPA Headquarters to have this program included in Maryland's State Implementation Plan to meet federal Clean Air Act requirements. Purchasing wind energy is an innovative local government approach to meeting federal Clean Air Act obligations.


Updated Date: 02/03/2006

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